722 N.W.2d 370 (N.D. 2006), 20060106, State v. Odom
| Citation | 722 N.W.2d 370, 2006 ND 209 |
| Opinion Judge | MARING, Justice. |
| Party Name | STATE of North Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellant v. Charles ODOM, Defendant and Appellee. |
| Attorney | Julie A. Lawyer (argued), Assistant State's Attorney, and James W. Martens, Third-Year Law Student (on brief), Bismarck, ND, for plaintiff and appellant., Robert V. Bolinske, Jr., Bismarck, ND, for defendant and appellee. |
| Judge Panel | [ |
| Case Date | October 17, 2006 |
| Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Page 370
Appeal from the District Court of Burleigh County, South Central Judicial District, the Honorable Sonna M. Anderson, Judge.
Page 371
OPINION
[¶ 1] The State of North Dakota appeals the trial court's order suppressing evidence found during a search of a locked safe in Charles Odom's hotel room after Odom gave consent to police to search the room. The State claims Odom's consent to search the room allowed the police to search the safe. We reverse the trial court's order suppressing the evidence found in the hotel room safe and remand for further proceedings.
I
[¶ 2] On December 4, 2005, a Bismarck Days Inn manager informed Bismarck Police Detective Cody Trom that Odom was staying at the hotel. Trom contacted Detective Paul Olson and informed him a warrant for Odom's arrest was outstanding and provided Odom's location. The arrest warrant was for a two-year-old drug paraphernalia charge.
[¶ 3] Along with Lieutenant Bob Haas, Olson executed the arrest warrant outside the hotel. After Odom's arrest, Olson and Odom waited inside the hotel for a patrol vehicle to transport Odom. While waiting for the patrol vehicle, and before reading Odom his Miranda rights, Olson spoke with Odom about the arrest warrant, Odom's hotel room number, and whether there were other individuals staying with Odom in the hotel room. After Odom's Miranda rights were read, Olson questioned Odom about the presence of narcotics
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in Odom's room. Odom initially denied having narcotics in the room. Olson asked how Odom arrived in Bismarck and who picked him up. Odom arrived in Bismarck via bus and was picked up by an acquaintance. Olson knew the acquaintance to be a crack cocaine dealer in Bismarck. Olson again asked Odom several times whether there were narcotics in the hotel room. Odom then admitted the presence of narcotics in his room, but did not reveal the type of narcotics. Olson asked for and received Odom's consent to search the room. Odom said, "you are going to find it anyway. Go ahead." Odom did not place any limitations on the scope of his consent.
[¶ 4] Having consent to search Odom's hotel room, Olson entered the room, confirmed no other individuals were in the room, and did a preliminary sweep of the room for narcotics. By the time Olson began the search, the patrol vehicle had arrived. Odom was placed in the care of the patrol officers. During the initial sweep, Olson found a piece of paper with the known drug dealer's name and phone number. This suggested to Olson the possibility that narcotic activity had occurred in the room.
[¶ 5] Olson also found the room's safe was locked and the key was missing. Olson spoke with Odom about the missing key. Odom said he did not have the key and did not know who did. Olson asked the hotel manager for the master key so Olson could open the safe. Odom did not withdraw his consent to search the room. In the safe, Olson found a digital scale on which was cocaine residue, a bundle of cash totaling just under $1,000, and a "big chunk of crack cocaine."
[¶ 6] Odom was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. Odom moved to suppress the safe's contents as illegally obtained evidence. The trial court granted Odom's motion to suppress the evidence found in the safe. The trial court found Odom had consented to a search of the room, but retained an expectation of privacy in the safe because he did not give specific consent to search the safe. The State appeals.
II
[¶ 7] The State claims the evidence seized from the safe in Odom's hotel room was wrongfully suppressed because Odom's consent to search the room included the locked safe.
[¶ 8] As we recently explained in State v. Graf, 2006 ND 196, ¶ 7, 721 N.W.2d 381 (citations omitted):
In reviewing a district court's decision on a motion to suppress evidence, we defer to the district court's findings of fact and resolve conflicts in testimony in favor of affirmance. We will affirm a district court's decision on a motion to suppress if there is sufficient competent evidence fairly capable of supporting the trial court's findings, and the decision is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. Our standard of review recognizes the importance of the district court's opportunity to observe the witnesses and assess their credibility. Questions of law are fully reviewable on appeal, and whether a finding of fact meets a legal standard is a question of law.
[¶ 9] Unreasonable searches and...
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